citydesk

Striking Verizon Employees to Return to Work

Following two weeks of labor discord, thousands of Verizon workers will abandon their picket lines tomorrow and return to their jobs, even though they haven't agreed to a new contract.

Nearly 45,000 Verizon employees went on strike Aug. 7 when their previous contract expired. But company and union officials said they have come close enough in their negotiations that picket lines will go away, at least for now. Health benefits and pensions are still the main sticking points.

Thirty-five thousand of the striking employees are members of the Communications Workers of America and 10,000 are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Another 135,000 of Verizon's employees are non-union workers.